Scottish football has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that children’s rights and wellbeing are at the heart of every level of Scottish football, with the launch of its new Child Wellbeing and Protection Strategy (2024-2030).

The strategy 'Roars not Whispers', has a mission to make football a safe and fun environment where children’s rights are championed by everyone. It will build on the strong foundations of Scottish football's first strategy, Getting It Right For Every Child in Football, which was introduced in 2019.

In 2023, the Scottish FA commissioned the Children's Parliament to carry out a major research project to ensure that children's voices are at the heart of the strategy. The project - which involved over 100 in-person conversations and a survey of over 1500 8-18 year olds - used a children's rights approach to seek the views and experiences of children and young people participating across all levels of the game.

The release of the strategy comes during a pivotal week in Scotland for children and young people, with Scotland becoming the first country in the United Kingdom incorporate The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)) into Scot’s law with the introduction of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.

Just as the UNCRC outlines the fundamental rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities, the Scottish FA want to lead the way in sport to ensure that children’s rights are a lived experience for all and are part of the culture of Scottish football. 

There has been significant progress in the area of child wellbeing and protection since the launch of the original strategy, including the adoption of relevant standards into the club licencing process, the creation of a national Child Wellbeing and Protection Policy that has been adopted by across the game, and the incorporation of enhanced child wellbeing and protection training into the Coach Education pathway.

This new strategy aims to build on these developments and is centred around four key game changer objectives:

Lead: to drive forward a culture where children's rights and wellbeing are prioritised at every level of our game; 

Voice: to champions children and young people's right to have their say in all we do; 

Protect: to embed child wellbeing and protection systems consistently across all levels of Scottish football; 

Learn: to grow a learning programme that develops the knowledge, skills and confidence to create a safe and inclusive football environment for children and young people.

To deliver on the football-wide strategy, the Scottish FA will continue to work collaboratively with partners, staff and volunteers and with Child Wellbeing and Protection Officers working at all levels of Scottish football, who all play a key role in leading change for children and young people. 

Scottish FA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell: "It's the fundamental right of every child that they feel safe, valued and supported in every aspect of their life and participation in sport is no different.

"Football is our national game, enjoyed by millions up and down the country on a regular basis. We have spoken to a number of young people who take part in football and the feedback from them was overwhelmingly positive as they talked about the impact football has on their mental and physical health."

Scottish FA Head of Wellbeing Alan Stewart: "Scottish football will continue to prioritise the rights, safety and wellbeing of children and young people – this will be visible in the decisions we make at all levels of football. We know that when children have a voice in whatever setting they are in, they are safer.

"I would like to thank everyone who has given their time to develop this strategy and we look forward to continuing to build positive relationships to ensure that our mission to make football a safe and fun environment where children’s rights are championed by everyone becomes a reality."

The full strategy can be viewed here.